


Falling Down

by PhantomDreamshade



Series: Old Stories [5]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Human Souls Backstory, Pre-Canon, Spoilers - they all die, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-22
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2019-03-22 08:32:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13760241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhantomDreamshade/pseuds/PhantomDreamshade
Summary: One. Two.The children came to the Underground, one by one.Three. Four.The children left the Ruins, one by one.Five. Six.The children died, one by one.Seven.





	1. A Kind Stranger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andy goes on a camping trip with his mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is more or less some backstory for the version of the human souls I created for my A Glimpse of Sun series, since I didn't really have the space to characterize them as much as I'd like there. If you'd like to see a version of the story where these characters DON'T die, they start showing up in Unraveling Threads. That said, thanks for giving this a read, and I hope you have an amazing day.

Andy dumped his armful of kindling by the fire as his mother finished pitching the tent. “Do you think this will be enough, mother?” he asked. 

“I think so,” she said, opening up the giant messenger bag she’d brought with her. “Alright. Why don’t you go hike to the top of the mountain while I set up the campfire? It isn’t all that tall.”

“Aren’t you coming?” Andy asked.

“I’ll climb it tomorrow,” she told him. “There’s too much to be done before the sun sets.” She pulled out a set of flint and steel and began arranging the kindling Andy had picked up.

“Are you sure you don’t want some help?” Andy chuckled.

“Absolutely not,” his mother said. “I’m here to prove that I can take care of myself completely just like any man could. No offense, sweetie, but I wouldn’t have even brought you along if you weren’t still underage.”

Andy smiled at her. “Alright, alright. You know, just because you  _ can _ do anything a man could, that doesn’t mean you  _ have to _ .”

His mother rolled her eyes. “You’re not wrong. But the only way women like me will ever have the right to vote is if we  _ prove _ we’re equal. That’s what I’m here to do.” She looked up at the peak. “But you don’t have to worry about that right now. Go and enjoy yourself, and when you come back, you can help me with dinner. There’s absolutely no reason a well-educated young man like yourself shouldn’t know how to cook.”

“I  _ like _ cooking, mother,” Andy reminded her. “I’ll see you later. Please be careful with that - don’t cut yourself.” He grabbed his backpack and started walking up the slopes of Mount Ebott. In all honesty, hiking was not his idea of enjoyment - Andy just was not an athletic person. Still, his mother was not the kind of woman that took ‘no’ for an answer and he was fine with a little hike if it would make her happy.

Luckily, Mount Ebott was neither tall nor steep. It was actually nice to be out of the city for a while - the sounds of car horns and people trying to sell newspapers were replaced with birdsong, and the air was so much fresher out here. The recent rain made everything feel so… tranquil.

It had been a little more than an hour when Andy saw the mouth of a cave near the summit. Curious, he walked up to the dark entrance and peeked inside.

His muddy foot slipped, and before he realized it, Andy was tumbling down into darkness.

* * *

Andy’s head was throbbing when he woke up. It felt like he was on a mattress - was he in a hospital? The bed felt way too small, though, and his feet hung off of the edge. He opened his eyes; it looked like he was in a small child’s room.

“Oh! You are awake. Thank goodness.” Andy turned his head toward the voice and screamed out loud as he scrambled away from the creature in front of him, falling off of the bed in the process.

The… whatever it was immediately stood up and rushed over to him. It looked like a… goat? Wearing a purple dress. “I mean you no harm, my child. Please, calm down. You are safe here.”

Andy took a moment to stop hyperventilating. “Who are you? Where am I?”

Toriel knelt down across from. “I realize that you are confused, young one. My name is Toriel. I am… a caretaker of this place, you could say. You have fallen into the Underground, home of the monster race.”

“Monsters?” Andy’s voice cracked, but he was too freaked out to be embarrassed.

“Yes, but do not worry. We are not as dangerous as the stories you might have heard may suggest. It appeared that you sprained your ankle during the fall, so I took the liberty of bandaging it and putting it on ice. I hope this is alright?”

Andy looked down to find that she had indeed wrapped a bag full of ice onto his right ankle. It was already numb, so he didn’t notice it at first in his confusion.

“Uh… yes. Thank you.”

“Excellent. Then I will prepare us some dinner. Here, allow me to help you up.” She offered him a clawed hand, which he took gingerly. It was covered in short, white fur. He stayed off of his injured foot and sat down on the bed. Soon enough, Toriel returned to help him to the dinner table.

She made a vegetable stew - a very good vegetable stew, at that. There were carrots, potatoes, peas… all soaked in a delicious, fragrant broth. Andy’s mother could learn a thing or two from her, and he considered his mother to be an excellent cook.

“If you are still hungry, I can prepare us some dessert. I did not have time to prepare it beforehand.” Toriel smiled at him from across the table.

“Uh, I could help. You’ve been so generous with your hospitality, the least I could do is help you cook.”

“Oh, that is not necessary, dear. You do not owe me anything.”

“I do, and I enjoy cooking, anyway. So, may I?”

Toriel chuckled. “If that is what you wish. Have you ever made butterscotch-cinnamon pie before?”

Andy stood up and began walking towards the kitchen. “No, but I can follow a recipe. It sounds delicious.” He looked down at his foot. “Hey, my ankle is… all better…”

“Monster food transforms directly into energy upon consumption. As such, it has healing properties.”

“Wow, really?” Andy smiled. “I wish my cooking was  _ that _ good.”

* * *

“The secret is the nutmeg,” Toriel explained as Andy put the last bit of pie into his mouth. “It compliments the cinnamon very well.”

“I can tell,” Andy said, putting his fork down. “Thank you so much for your hospitality, Miss Toriel. I’m very grateful that you found me.”

“The pleasure is all mine, my child,” Toriel smiled. “Come. I believe it is time we retired for the evening.”

“I appreciate the offer, Miss Toriel, but I really need to be leaving. My mother must be worried sick about me.”

Toriel looked a little worried. “I understand… however, I do not believe you will be able to leave the way you came, especially in your current state. The climb is many stories high, and the wall curves in on itself at the top of the cavern. You would have to hang from the ceiling in order to reach the exit.”

Andy turned pale. “There has to be a way for me to get home,” he said. “I can’t just stay down here forever. I’ve got family, friends up there waiting for me - please, there must be something you can do.”

Toriel sighed. “There are… alternate methods of leaving the Underground. However, those methods will take many days of travel anyway. For the time being, I am afraid you must remain here. It would be best for you to rest here and regain your strength before attempting such an arduous task. You must be somewhat shaken from the experience.”

Andy thought for a moment, and then nodded. “Very well. If I really don’t have a choice, then I’d be grateful for a place to stay for the time being. Thank you.”

“Of course,” Toriel said, leading him back to the bedroom.

“Do you have children?” Andy asked as he looked around. The room clearly belonged to a child at some point.

“Once,” Toriel said sadly. “One of them was a human that fell down here many years ago, like you. They… fell down, though, a while ago.”

“I’m so sorry,” Andy apologized. He wasn’t familiar with the euphemism, but it was obviously a touchy subject for her.

“It is alright,” Toriel assured him. “It almost seems like a lifetime ago now. Get some rest, and I will see you in the morning.”

She turned out the lights as Andy wrapped himself in the blankets. No one back home was going to believe any of this had happened. He just hoped he would be able to get home to tell them all.


	2. A Warm Welcome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andy finds himself in Snowdin Town.

“Miss Toriel, I really do appreciate all the hospitality you’ve given me for the past week,” Andy said. “But I have to go. I understand that it could be dangerous, but… I need to go home. Please try to understand.”

Toriel sighed from her reading chair. “I… I do understand. I just do not wish to see you hurt. You are such a sweet young man, Andy.”

He smiled at her. “I’ll be alright. People can be scared of what they don’t understand. If I just show everyone out there that I’m nothing to be afraid of, I’m sure I can convince them to let me leave without any bloodshed.”

“Perhaps you will, my child,” Toriel said. “Still, I feel that I may not have adequately prepared you for the dangers outside of the Ruins. You have my blessing to leave, but I would first like to give you a lesson in self-defense.”

“I… have an objection to hurting people. Even in self-defense, I’m just not comfortable with fighting. I’m sorry.” Andy told her.

“I was not referring to fighting. Please, follow me out into the yard.” The two walked outside and Toriel took a deep breath. Then, the color flickered out around the two of them and the world was left in black and white.

“Ah - a green soul. This doesn’t surprise me.” Toriel gestured to the floating green heart that appeared in front of Andy. “That heart is your soul - the very essence of your being. In a battle with a monster, your opponent with try to attack your soul. Try dodging this attack, please.” Toriel threw a small fireball, and it floated lazily in the air towards the human. He sidestepped easily.

“Excellent,” she praised him. “Of course, that attack was very simple. Other monsters will use faster and more complex attack patterns - you will have to learn to adapt to the magic of each opponent you face.” Andy nodded, still looking bewildered by the experience. “Now it is your turn, my child - you should have four options before you. You may Fight, Act, use an Item, or use Mercy.

“You should never use the Fight command. Act will offer a list of useful options to help you work out your differences with your opponent. As you already know, monster food is capable of instantaneous healing, so eating an Item in battle is a viable way to recover your health. Lastly, you may use the Spare option in the Mercy menu to end a battle if both parties agree, or you may use it to flee. Do you have any questions?”

“I-I don’t think so,” Andy said.

“Good. Now, you have a green soul, and this gives you access to a special type of magic,” Toriel continued.

“Wait… you’re saying I can use magic?” Andy asked.

“All humans can, but only after being exposed to monster magic first. Both types of magic you can use may be found in your Act menu.” She gestured to the floating set of buttons before him, and he pressed ACT. “You may use either Heal or Pin. Heal, as it suggests, will allow you to heal yourself or an ally who is injured. Pin will force an opponent to stay in their current position - while it can be used to make attacks more effective, I find it more useful to stop an opponent from pursuing you while fleeing. Why don’t you try it?”

Andy nodded and tried using Pin - immediately, some sort of instinct kicked in and he extended his hand. He felt a rush of energy flare from his fingertips and Toriel began to glow with a green light.

“Good,” she said. “Keep concentrating while dodging this attack.” Toriel launched a wave of fire this time - Andy had to jump over it, but he was still unharmed. His green magic stayed on Toriel. Andy reached over and selected Spare, and Toriel did the same.

“Alright,” she sighed. “I am more comfortable with you leaving now that you have completed a basic…” she snickered slightly, “Tu-Toriel!” She started giggling loudly, and Andy couldn’t help but laugh along. It died down after a while. “But in all seriousness, my child - please be careful out there. I will miss you.”

“I’ll miss you, too, Miss Toriel,” Andy said, walking over and giving her a hug. “Thank you for understanding.” 

Toriel nodded. “In order to leave, you must reach the king’s castle - he lives at the end of the caverns. And, my child - I would appreciate if you did not mention my whereabouts to him or anyone else on your journey.” Andy nodded and grabbed his backpack, complete with an apron and frying pan, and walked out of the Ruins.

“Good luck,” Toriel breathed as the door shut behind him.

* * *

Andy was shocked by the sudden climate change - the Ruins were perfectly mild, but the region just outside was frigidly cold. Andy pulled the apron out of his backpack and tied it on just for a little more warmth. Thank goodness there wasn’t any wind down here.

The woods were very… tranquil. The lack of sound was a little eerie, sure - there weren’t any birds that he could hear - but it was nice compared to the constant noise of the city. He was honestly surprised that there weren’t any monsters around; it was just a pristine, undisturbed underground forest. 

After a couple hours of walking, Andy began to wonder if the entire underground was one giant winterscape. He hadn’t run into as much as a single soul yet, and he was starting to get uncomfortable. Maybe he’d gotten turned around somewhere and he was walking in circles? Everything looked the same, but there only seemed to be one path and it hadn’t branched off anywhere.

Just as he was about to turn around and try to retrace his steps, Andy heard something - it sounded like the familiar bustle of a town. Relieved to find some sign of life, he picked up his pace and headed towards the sound.

It was indeed a town - a small town, maybe, but a town nonetheless. “Welcome to Snowdin,” the sign read. There were a pair of... dogs? standing just outside with armor on, one small with black and white patches and the other bulky and pure white.

“Hello there,” Andy waved. Time to put his friendly nature to work.

“Halt! Who goes there?” the small dog barked.

“Yeah, who goes there?” the other one mimicked him.

“My name is Andy,” the human said, extending his hand. “Pleased to meet you.”

The small dog scampered up to him and sniffed at his hand. “Wait a minute… you smell like…”

The other dog ran up and sniffed him as well. “You’re… a human!”

“W-Well, yes, but--” Andy yelped as the world flicked back to black and white and he was forced into a battle. He took a deep breath and selected his Act menu.

* Barker

* Dogathan

Andy hesitated for a moment, starting to panic a little, and picked Barker.

* Check

* Fetch

* Play

* Belly Rub

Andy blinked. Wouldn’t any of those things be… demeaning? Andy closed his eyes and picked Fetch.

Before he knew what he was doing, Andy had picked up a stick and tossed it off to the side. “Fetch, boy!”

To his surprise the smaller dog, Barker, dashed over to the stick, picked it up in his mouth, dropped it at Andy’s feet, and ran back to where he started. Then, both dogs launched an attack - they barked loudly, creating white sound waves that ended up grazing Andy’s soul.

It was a weird feeling - it hurt, for sure, but in a different way. It was almost like he could feel their intent to harm him, though it was fairly mild. He tried playing fetch with Dogathan, too, and both dogs seemed happy. He dodged their attack this time and pressed Spare - the battle ended, and the screen in front of him informed him he’d earned 5 G.

“See? Us humans aren’t so bad,” Andy said, laughing nervously. His nerves were shot.

“They’re sure fun to play with!” Barker said. “You kinda remind me of the King’s kid.”

Andy tilted his head curiously as the dogs stepped aside. “Welcome to Snowdin, Mr. Human Andy,” Dogathan said. Andy smiled at them and walked inside.

He got more than a few strange looks as he passed through the town, but he supposed that was to be expected. None of them seemed particularly hostile, though, and that was his main concern. He saw a sign for a shop - even though Toriel had sent him with a slice of butterscotch pie for the road, Andy supposed it couldn’t hurt to stock up on monster food in case he needed it.

A little bell rang as he opened up the door, and a rabbit-looking man walked out from the back room. “Howdy! How can I help you?”

“Um… I was wondering if you had any snacks, or food in general, or… um…” Alright, so maybe Andy had always been a little shy. He was sixteen, for pete’s sake, but he blamed the nerves on the fact he was in a town full of monsters.

“Sure thing. My wife makes a mean carrot cake,” the man winked, walking into the back room. A few seconds later, a little rabbit girl scampered out from the same room and hopped onto the counter and stared at him.

“Hi there mithter,” she said. Her front teeth were missing. “I hathn’t theen you around here before. Who are you?”

“My name’s Andy,” he said, smiling. He loved little kids. “What’s yours?”

“I’m Bonnie,” the rabbit said. “When I grow up I’m gonna own the shop and thell yummy things. And when my thithter finally learns to walk, she’s gonna build an inn right over there and we’re gonna be rich,” Bonnie told him, pointing out the window.

“Wow, it sounds like you have your whole future planned out already, huh?”

“Mm hm. What do you do, mithter?” Bonnie started playing with her own ears.

“I want to be a chef someday,” Andy said. “Maybe you can hire me to work back in your kitchen when you get the the shop so you can sell twice as many yummy things,” he winked.

The current shopkeeper came back with a slice of carrot cake wrapped up in parchment paper. “One slice of carrot cake. That’ll be five G, please.”

Andy recalled that he actually had no idea where the money he’d earned from the battle had gone to, but before he knew it, it had materialized in his hand. He put it on the counter and took the cake.

“Anything else you need, friend?” The shopkeeper asked, rubbing Bonnie’s head while she giggled.

“I don’t think so,” Andy said, smiling at Bonnie. “Thank you very much.”

Maybe this wouldn’t be so hard after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you're wondering, Bonnie is the shopkeeper that Frisk meets in Snowdin. Dogathan and Barker both end up as parts of Endogeny when Alphys begins her Determination experiments.


	3. When Kindness Fails

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andy travels through Waterfall and Hotland.

Snowdin was lovely, but Andy had to admit that he prefered Waterfall’s humidity to the little town’s biting cold. None of the buildings seemed to be heated - which made sense, Andy supposed, since almost everyone in the town had fur.

The crystals on Waterfall’s ceiling were beautiful, too - sparkling in various shades of violet and sapphire and cool blue-green. Although, he wasn’t all that fond of the thick coat of mud starting to cake onto his shoes. Nothing was perfect.

“...I wish I could see my wife again…” Andy blinked, looking around for the source of the wispy voice. There was no one there, but the wish repeated itself. It sounded like it was coming from one of the glowing blue flowers in the room.

“Hello?” Andy said to it. Maybe it was some kind of monster?

“...Hello?...” The flower asked back, borrowing Andy’s voice.

“Can you talk back?” Andy asked. That would probably be a really rude question if it could, he realized.

“...Can you talk back?...”

Ah. So it just repeated things it had already heard. What a sad wish to have - Andy kept walking. Waterfall was full of the strange blue flowers.

“...I hope that my son is alive on the surface somewhere…”

“...I wish I had died instead of my sister…”

Andy started walking faster. The morbid wishes started slurring together, filling the windless cavern with sounds akin to breeze sighing through trees.

“...I already lost everything. What’s the point…”

“...I hope the humans all get what they deserve for what they’ve done to us…”

“...I pray that Prince Asriel is resting in peace…”

Andy started to run. He didn’t want to hear any of these things - there was so much anger and pain caught in these echo flowers, like fresh blood pouring out of old wounds. Everywhere he turned, he seemed to be surrounded by ghosts, murmuring about death and betrayal and hopelessness and…

“SHUT UP!” He shouted, willing the voices away. The flowers picked up his message and began whispering it to each other. He sat down on the ground.

Andy didn’t understand. There was so much pent-up grief and  _ hatred _ down here. Everyone seemed so nice; it was hard to imagine that there were likely deep-running scars underneath all of their cheer. Maybe it was all forced, or faked. There had to be some way he could help, some way he could prove to them that humans weren’t all bad. Some way he could redeem everything that his kind had done.

“...help me…” one of the flowers whispered to him, erasing his desperate shout from earlier. “...somebody help me…”

Andy stood up, listening to the flowers closely for the source of the cry for help. He followed it forward until he could hear the actual voice instead of its echoes. It was coming from his right, across a mud field. There was someone stuck there - a little monster kid with no arms. They were up to their chest in mud.

“Hold on, I’m coming!” Andy shouted to them, taking a step forward. He only sunk a little, so he continued forward. By the time he reached the child, he was nearly up to his waist in mud; but his feet finally hit solid rock. He dipped his hands into the muck and wrapped his arms around their body, yanking them upward. They buried their face into his shoulder and started sobbing.

“Hey, it’s okay now. I’ve got you.” Andy began walking back to the main path and set them down on it.

“Th-Thank you,” the child sniffed.

“Not a problem,” Andy huffed. He’d probably gotten more exercise while in the Underground than he had in the past month combined. “How did you even get in there, anyway?”

The child turned around and looked up. “I fell off of that bridge,” they said. “I’m such a clutz. If I ever have a kid, I’m never letting them go to Waterfall.”

Andy chuckled. “Well, the important thing is that you’re safe now. Where do you live?”

“Snowdin,” the child said.

“Do you know how to get back there?” Andy asked. The child nodded. “Alright. I have to keep going - but you be careful on your way home, okay? No more mud pits for you.”

The child nodded again and began walking back toward Snowdin as Andy headed in the other direction, reaching the bridge the child had fallen from. He took extra care - the thing was extremely rickety. No wonder they had fallen off.

Andy noticed that the humidity was beginning to drop off, and the air was warming even further. In fact, it was becoming uncomfortably hot and dry - and the air smelled like sulfur. He must be entering a new region.

There was a glow up ahead - Andy crossed the threshold to discover what appeared to be a gigantic lake of magma far beneath him. This wasn’t going to be a pleasant experience; he hated the heat. It looked like there was some sort of building being constructed on the road ahead, and there was some kind of elevator to his left.

He looked up and saw that the area was a series of giant interwoven rock bridges, set in different layers like floors. Far above him was the edge of what appeared to be a cityscape - that must be where the King’s palace was. He walked towards the elevator and took it up as far as it would go.

Ugh, this place was sweltering. And the air was hard to breathe. Andy even found it difficult to see through the waves of heat rippling through the air - which is why it took him a long time to register the bulky, rabbit-eared knight approaching him.

_ Charging _ at him was a more accurate description. Andy blinked and immediately backpedaled, yanking his frying pan out of his backpack to block a heavy downward swing from the knight’s sword. The world turned black-and-white.

* ACT

* Royal Guard

* Talk

“I-I’m not here to hurt anyone,” Andy told the guard. “We don’t have to fight. Please, I’m sure we can find a way to talk about this.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” the guard said. “We’re using your soul to open the barrier. End of story.” He swung his sword again, and this time Andy was too slow to stop it. The attack left a deep gash across his chest, and it took a moment for the pain to register. When it did, Andy couldn’t even let loose a scream. It  _ hurt _ . He began to panic, wide-eyed.

* ACT

* Royal Guard

* Reason

“Y-You don’t have to do this,” Andy said. “I won’t hurt anyone, I  _ haven’t _ hurt anyone.”

Another slash, this time gouging into his thigh. Andy did shout this time. He was getting dizzy. He had to something, he had to… 

* ACT

* Andy

* Heal

Andy pressed his hand to his bleeding chest and a rush of bright green energy flowed into the wound, sealing it part of the way.

You regained 6 HP!

Unfortunately, the guard’s next attack took 7 HP. This wasn’t working.

* ACT

* Royal Guard

* Pin

Andy reached out with his magic once more, this time extending it over the guard. It locked his boots in place - but he still landed his attack. Andy was down to 2 HP.

* MERCY

* Flee

Andy turned around and dashed as fast as he could - which wasn’t very fast, considering he was gravely wounded, exhausted, overheating, and not at all athletic. It was mere moments before the guard caught him again.

* ACT

* Royal Guard

* Plead

“I just want to go home,” Andy said. He was crying, he realized. He’d never been in so much pain. “Please, please just let me go home.”

* * *

 

_ Schlick. _

The guard’s sword pierced right through the boy’s chest. He looked down at it, blinking as his mind tried to comprehend what had just happened. Then, he slid to the ground, blood pooling on the rocks. His green soul hovered just above him.

The guard reached down and shoved it back into the human’s body for safekeeping, then grabbed him by the apron to hoist over his shoulder. The straps pulled loose and the body fell back to the ground. Sighing, the guard tossed the apron aside and grabbed the human again, blocking out everything he’d heard the boy say.

This was his duty. Orders from King Asgore himself. More importantly, this soul was going to let his infant son see the surface someday. It would be worth it, in the end. It had to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One down.
> 
> Also, just in case my references weren't clear, the child Andy rescued in Waterfall was one of Monster Kid's parents and the Royal Guard Andy fought was RG 01's dad.


	4. Curiosity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Landon falls into the Underground.

Landon brushed his dark hair out of his eyes and readjusted his glasses on his face. Perhaps the long-sleeve shirt and sweater-vest he was wearing were a bit much for a geological expedition, but he liked to look his best at all times. He looked around the ridge he had just climbed up onto and spied a large cavern ahead of him.

Interesting. Curious, Landon moved forward and examined the mouth of the cave. It was difficult to see inside; he wondered how such an intriguing rock formation had formed in the first place.

He didn’t realize that the surface was slick as he got a little closer, and he found himself sliding into a giant hole in the mountain. By the time he got his bearings, he was in free fall.

* * *

 

Landon blinked his eyes open, staring up at the entrance to the caverns an indeterminable distance above him. He looked at his glasses - by some miracle, they were unscathed, though it appeared his notebook didn’t fare as well. He’d have to transpose it later.

He heard a woman gasp in surprise - someone else must be down here, thank goodness. He sat up to see…

A goat. Goat-woman. In a purple robe.

Clearly, he was experiencing some sort of head-trauma-induced hallucination.

“You poor dear,” the woman said, placing a hand on his cheek as his vision regained focus. It was… furry?

A very vivid, head-trauma-induced hallucination.

“Do not be afraid, my child,” the goat-woman-hallucination said. “I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. Come with me, I will guide you through the catacombs.”

Landon was too disoriented to do anything else as he was led away by Toriel. He didn’t remember all that much, passing out on the bed he was laid onto.

The next morning, Landon woke up in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room. Fearing he’d been drugged and kidnapped, the human crept out of the room as quietly as possible. Sitting in the living room, he spotted Toriel again.

How could he still be hallucinating? He didn’t feel completely lucid, as if his mind was drifting in a fog. There had to be a rational explanation for this.

“Oh! You are awake,” Toriel said, standing up from her reading chair. “I have made some pie for us, but it is currently a little too hot to eat. Come, my child, you should sit down. You have suffered a severe concussion from your fall.”

A concussion made sense; but hallucinations weren’t a common concussion symptom, were they? Of course, memory loss was a symptom and that might have been the problem. Landon decided to sit down, because he was starting to feel dizzy.

“Now, I have been applying some healing magic to your injury to help expedite your recovery. The symptoms should be gone within a few days, but I recommend that you rest until then.” Landon felt a warm glow on the sides of his head and saw a green glow at the edges of his vision as Toriel poured more magic into his body. He blinked when Toriel left and returned with the pie, handing him a slice.

“Magic doesn’t exist,” he said. His head felt clearer now, but nothing made sense still.

“Not on the surface anymore, perhaps,” Toriel said, taking a bite of pie, “but you will find it is an essential part of life for monsters.”

Landon pinched the bridge of his nose, forcing back a headache. “Monsters don’t exist either, they’re just imaginary constructs made up by people.”

Toriel raised an eyebrow. “I am afraid that information is false, my child,” she said. “You are speaking to one right now.”

Landon stood up. “No, this isn’t… this isn’t possible. You aren’t real, none of this is real, I’m just… this is a hallucination. I’m in a mental hospital somewhere and they’re going to treat me, or - or, I’m still at the base of the cavern and--”

“Shh, my child, shh,” Toriel said, standing up and walking over to him. “I realize that you are confused right now and that this is a lot to take in. However, I want you to know that you are safe here. Come, my child, you should rest.”

* * *

 

Days passed, and as Landon’s concussion faded with Toriel’s aid, the situation only seemed more and more real. Landon came up with two hypotheses - he had developed some severe mental illness and was making up the entire scenario, or monsters and magic were actually real. Since there wasn’t really anything he could do about the former, he decided to assume the latter. If that was the case, it was his responsibility to document as much as he could.

“Do you happen to have a spare notebook, Miss Toriel?” Landon asked that day at dinner. 

“I am afraid I do not, Landon,” she said. “My apologies. What do you need a notebook for?”

“I’d like you to teach me about monsters and magic, please,” he said. “I am very interested in the topic.”

“Quite the scholar, are you not?” Toriel chuckled. “It would be my pleasure. I have always wanted to be a teacher! Now, where to begin…” Toriel led him out into the yard. “Yourself would be a good starting point, I suppose.”

“Are you saying I possess magic?” Landon asked.

“Yes,” Toriel said. “All humans do, in fact, but it is only accessible after being exposed to monster magic first.”

Landon hastily began writing notes in his torn notebook as Toriel initiated a battle. Landon blinked as his vision flickered out into black and white. He kept writing.

“Ah, you have a purple soul,” Toriel said. “Interesting.”

“What significance does that hold?” Landon asked, noticing the floating heart in front of his chest for the first time.

“A human’s magic differs based on their soul color. When a human embodies a certain trait, it can strengthen their magic. For you, this trait is Perseverance.”

“What specific magic does Perseverance grant me access to?” Landon asked.

Toriel smiled, happy to see him so engaged. “You have two unique abilities. The first is your Shield ability, which is always active. Every living thing has a certain amount of HP, or Hit Points. If a person’s HP is reduced to zero with magic, they will die. Your Shield ability gives you a very large amount of extra HP over what your body normally possesses.”

“And the other ability?” Landon turned the page and continued scribbling.

Toriel took a deep breath. “Your other ability is a dangerous offensive power, and I would caution against its use. We call it Linewalk. With it, you can force an opponent into a specific pattern of movement, which will make attacks against them much more effective. I do, however, always advocate against violence.”

“Of course,” Landon said. “I completely agree. Please continue. Are there other statistics I should know about?”

“Your Attack determines how much HP you will take with an attack against a magical being, and your Defense will reduce the amount of damage you take. Your Invincibility will protect you from attacks performed in quick succession. If I recall correctly, humans with especially high Perseverance may be able to increase their Defense and Invincibility with their Shield ability.”

Landon nodded his head. “Do these statistics work on an integer system?”

Toriel blinked. “Yes, for the most part. There are a few exceptions. Spider monsters are notorious for having odd statistics.”

“Is there any way to check the statistics of a person?” Landon asked.

“Yes. A person’s Attack and Defense can be seen using the Check command in your Act menu. Invincibility is a hidden statistic, however, and cannot be known outside asking a person themself.”

“Menu?” Landon looked down at the four floating options before him. “Ah. I see.”

“You will often find that your most useful option in a battle is Act,” Toriel said. “Why don’t you try selecting something from your Act menu now?”

Landon tapped the button and then selected Toriel’s name before writing a few more notes. He selected Check.

* TORIEL 80 ATK 80 DEF

* Knows best for you.

“Well done, my child,” Toriel said. “Now, I believe it is important that I give you a basic lesson in dodging attacks. Please, try to avoid this attack - do not worry, the amount of HP it will take is very minimal.”


	5. Giving Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Landon meets King Asgore for the first and last time.

“My child… please reconsider,” Toriel said, following Landon down into the basement. "It is not safe out there for a human. Please, can you not just…” Toriel closed her eyes and sighed.

Landon gave her a sympathetic glance. “I have a family to return to, Miss Toriel. I can’t just stay here for the rest of my life.”

“...I know this,” Toriel said. “But… would it not be better to stay here away from them rather than die out there?”

“I do not plan on dying, Miss Toriel,” Landon said. “My Perseverance gives me extraordinary survivability. I am sure I will be able to stall long enough to work out a solution with any monster I might encounter. Besides, considering how long it has been since the barrier was created, many of the grievances your kind has with mine are likely misconceptions. Perhaps I will be able to clear a few things up.”

“You aren’t the first human to try this,” Toriel said.

“...What do you mean?”

Toriel looked at the ground. “A few years ago, another young man fell into the Ruins. And he left, just like you. The king - Asgore - took his soul. He died out there, Landon. I… should never have let him leave. I don’t want to make the same mistake again.”

“Did this other human have a purple soul like mine?” Landon asked.

“No,” Toriel said.

“Then I doubt he had the levels of endurance I do. I have enough magic to take care of myself, Miss Toriel,” Landon said. “Besides, if and when I leave the Underground, it is vital I report all of the information I’ve gathered. Perhaps I can help find a way to eliminate the barrier from the outside without further bloodshed.”

“That is a nice thought, but…” Toriel paused for a moment. “...Very well. It is unrealistic of me to expect you to stay here forever. Goodbye, my child. Be careful, will you not?”

“Of course, Miss Toriel,” Landon said. “Farewell.”

Landon walked outside to find the air suddenly frigid and snow covering the ground. He looked up to see nothing but the ceiling of the cavern, far above. How could there possibly be snow down here? Such an interesting weather phenomenon; he’d have to research it in depth later on.

For the time being, however, he merely plodded along through the snowy wood (there were living trees down here as well, surviving without sunlight. It boggled the mind). He was grateful for his layers of clothing now, because the temperature here must have been well below freezing.

It took a few hours of travel, but Landon eventually came up on some sort of settlement - ‘Snowdin Town,’ the sign read. A little on the nose, but he was excited to do some research. He wandered around for a little while - everyone gave him strange looks, but he supposed it was only natural - until he came across a library. Buzzing with excitement, he walked right up to the door.

Wait. The sign said ‘Librarby.’

Landon marched straight up to the welcome desk to find some sort of green reptile-monster in a yellow turtleneck. “Can I help you?” he asked.

“Are you aware that your outdoor sign is grossly misspelled?” Landon said impatiently. Of all the places to have a poor grasp on the English language, it had to be the  _ library _ ?

“Huh?” The librarian walked outside for a moment. “Oh, come on! I  _ just _ had that thing repainted.”

“It appears you need it re-repainted,” Landon said, annoyed with the sheer amount of incompetence it would take to spell ‘Library’ as ‘Librarby.’

The librarian groaned and returned to his desk. “We don’t have the budget,” he sighed, leaning his head on his hand gloomily. “Well, regardless, welcome to the library. Take your time and look around, and please keep it down.”

Landon started pulling book after book off of the shelves, pouring through each one quickly. He was a fast reader.

Luckily, the books seemed to be well edited (except for a  _ very _ unprofessional school report concerning monster funerals) and ended up being extremely informative. He spent the entire day there, until the librarian eventually tapped him on the shoulder and told him the library was closing.

Landon headed into the nearby inn to find a rabbit-man and a small toddler that was presumably his daughter. He blinked as Landon entered and put the stack of gold Toriel had given him for the trip on the counter.

“I’d like a room, please,” Landon said.

“Uh… sure thing, little man,” the rabbit said, taking the gold and handing him a key. “Room’s upstairs on your left.”

Landon nodded and headed up to his room, and the rabbit started dialing on an old rotary phone.

“Uh, hello? Mr. Gerson? Sorry ta bother you at this hour, but uh… I think there’s a human staying at my inn? Mhm… yeah, yeah, he’s up there now… how long until the king can get here? Okay… gotcha. Just wanted to let you know.”

* * *

 

Landon returned his key the following morning and headed back to the library, finishing the last couple of books he wanted to read before leaving Snowdin behind and heading towards what appeared to be a different region. The air began to warm up - it was still relatively cool, but nowhere near as chilly as Snowdin - and the humidity immediately spiked. The ground was softer here, too.

Landon was too busy writing down notes to notice the two burly figures blocking the road in front of him. He walked straight into one of them and stumbled backwards, adjusting his glasses on his face.

“Excuse me, but could you please watch where you are… going…” Landon glanced up to see a crown sitting atop the head of a monster that bore a striking resemblance to Toriel, but masculine. He was tall, regal, and imposing with a set of large horns and a long purple robe that Landon could see was concealing metal armor underneath. Beside him was another monster; he was an anthropomorphic turtle, and he seemed on the older side.

“Welp, that must be him, Your Majesty,” the turtle said. “You sure you don’t want my help?”

“I am sure, Captain Gerson,” the king said. “This is my burden to bear.”

“Y… You must be King Asgore,” Landon said quietly.

Asgore gave him a sad smile as Gerson waked away. “I am, child.”

Landon took a deep breath. “My name is Landon, Your Majesty.”

“It is nice to meet you, Landon. You may just call me Asgore.” He clenched and unclenched his fists, as if fighting himself. “...You know what we must do,” he said quietly. “I am very sorry, Landon.”

“I was hoping we could find a different resolution than violence,” Landon said. “If you allow me to leave the barrier, you have my word I will look for a solution to breaking the barrier from the outside that doesn’t require violence. I can see that you enjoy violence as little as I do, sir. Please, if you could just escort me to the barrier--”

“I’m afraid it isn’t possible for you to leave that way,” Asgore said quietly. He took a deep breath of his own and summoned a glowing red trident. Landon took a step back.

“What are you talking about? Please, we don’t have to--”

“You’ve been misinformed, I’m afraid,” Asgore said. “The power of a single human soul is not enough to cross the barrier with. It requires a human soul… and a monster soul.”

“I thought monster souls disappeared immediately upon death,” Landon said.

“Most do,” Asgore said. “The souls of Boss Monsters like myself, however, do linger for a few moments. If you wish to leave, then… I am afraid you must kill me.” Asgore readied a battle stance, and the battle started.

* Act

* Reason

“There has to be another way that doesn’t end up with one of us dead,” Landon said. Asgore didn’t respond, and Landon leapt over a wave of fire. The barrage of fireballs that followed hit him straight on, but the violet energy that appeared around his body to protect him deflected most of it.

* * *

 

The battle went on for hours. Landon refused to fight, and Asgore couldn’t seem to pierce Landon’s violet magic. It appeared they were at a stalemate.

That had given Landon plenty of time to think. He ran through every scenario he could think of, but… in the end… there wasn’t really a way around this. The monsters needed seven souls, and the only had one so far. There wasn’t a viable way to generate that much power, inside or outside the barrier. There just wasn’t a solution that allowed both Asgore and him to live.

Landon closed his eyes.

* Act

* Surrender

Landon felt his violet magic fizzle out. “Make it quick, please,” he whispered. This was the only thing he could think to do. It was the lesser of two evils, he decided. The monsters had suffered enough. If it was seven lives or the freedom of an entire race, then… well. Landon couldn’t say he approved of either choice, but he had to make one regardless.

Landon felt a heavy paw on his shoulder and looked up to see Asgore, tears streaming down his face. “I’m sorry,” the king said, voice cracking. Then, the trident endered Landon’s body, and… everything went black.

Asgore captured the floating purple soul in the container Gaster had made for him and picked up the body of the dead child, too distraught to bother picking up his notebook or the glasses that fell from his face.  _ It had to be done _ , he told himself.  _ My people need this. _

Despite the assurances he gave himself, Asgore felt something die inside of him. The sensation had become almost familiar now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two down.


	6. The Field Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olivia falls into the Underground after a field trip gone wrong.

Sighing, Olivia tried to retie the ribbon that was keeping her dark, tightly curled hair in a bun. The ballet recital had been amazing - she never felt more alive than when she was onstage - but the little celebration field trip she and her classmates had gone on afterward was more outdoorsy than she had expected. Sure, picnics were nice, but she wasn’t going to be able to change out of her ballet gear until she got home and it was hot and muggy out here. Plus, she didn’t want to get her new clothes dirty; they were a birthday present from her papa.

Olivia sat alone at the edge of the field like she always did. She was used to being a loner in this little group. Her papa was a very successful businessman, an incredible feat for someone like him at the time, and he took his daughter’s education very seriously. Olivia loved her papa and she knew he’d worked very hard to get her into this school, so she ignored the fact that her dark skin stuck out like a sore thumb among all the pale, pampered faces around her. She ignored it when they teased her. She ignored it when they bullied her. She was tougher than that. It didn’t get to her.

At least, that’s what she kept telling herself. Regardless, though, she wasn’t going to let a bunch of prissy, small minded people stand in her way. She was going places, no matter who believed in her. She finished tying the ribbon - it probably didn’t look great, considering she didn’t have a mirror, but at least the performance was already over.

“Thanks for ruining the performance _again_ ,” a girl said to her, staring down at Olivia menacingly. Olivia just took a bite of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich as the girl tapped her foot impatiently.

“I didn’t ruin the performance, Claire,” Olivia said, not in the mood to entertain her. Then again, she was never in the mood to entertain the spoiled, short-tempered teacher’s pet.

“Is that what you tell yourself to help you sleep at night? ‘Daddy says I’m good at ballet, so that makes me the most special girl in the _whole world_ ,’” another girl mocked. Annie, if Olivia remembered correctly. She was a relatively new addition, but she fit in perfectly with the mean-spirited clique of popular girls that ruled her ballet class.

Olivia didn’t bother making eye contact. “That’s bold, coming from the girl who’s daddy paid to get her into the lead role. I’m just saying that it’d be hard for _me_ to ruin the show from the very back of the stage when you’re under the spotlight, nearly falling over during your pirouettes.”

“ _Excuse me_?” Annie said. “Just who do you think you are?”

“Future broadway star,” Olivia said, taking another bite of her sandwich.

“A star? _You_?” Claire laughed. “That’s even more ridiculous than your performance today. Do you want to know why?”

Olivia sighed. “Because you’re a narrow minded person that doesn’t believe in equality and has had everything in her life handed to her on a silver platter, so she doesn’t know any way to act other than a spoiled brat?”

“How _dare_ you! You don’t know anything about me,” Claire scoffed, and Olivia shrugged. That was true. It didn’t excuse the fact that Claire was just an all-around awful person. “And no, that’s not the reason, Olivia. The reason is because you’re _ugly_.”

Olivia froze, for just a second. Too quick for anyone to notice. “I’m not ugly.”

“Just look at yourself,” Annie said. “You’re fat, you’re hair’s always a mess, and you actually think that outfit is supposed to be pretty.”

Olivia shot straight up to look Annie in the eyes, leaving her sandwich abandoned on the picnic blanket. “My papa gave me this. You take that back!”

“Oh, you’re right, I’m sorry,” Annie said sarcastically. “I guess he’s just too stupid to know how to dress his own daughter.”

“You’re just jealous of me because you both know I’m twice the performer either of you will ever be!” Olivia shouted.

“Oh really?” Claire said, picking up Olivia’s half-eaten sandwich and pulling apart the slices. “Then why are you so filthy? A performer has to have hygiene, you know.”

“I’m not—” Claire threw one of the pieces at her, staining her leotard with raspberry jam. “Hey! Stop it!”

“Oh here, let me help you with your hair,” Annie said, yanking the ribbon out of Olivia’s hair painfully. She shouted and staggered backward.

“Do you need me to do your makeup for you?” Claire asked, smearing the peanut-butter side of the sandwich on Olivia’s face.

“Stop it! STOP IT!” Olivia shouted, shoving Claire. She fell to the ground right on top of Olivia’s picnic basket, shouting in pain as the wood splintered beneath her.

It was only then that their teacher turned around, having conveniently turned a blind eye until this moment. “Olivia!” She shouted, rushing over to the group. “Just what do you think you’re doing?!”

“They were—”

“You know what? I don’t want to hear it. You are in a lot of trouble, young lady,” the teacher said, moving to grab Olivia’s wrist. Olivia sprung out of the way, tears beginning to roll down her face.

“You’re supposed to _protect me_ ,” Olivia said, pointing at the teacher. “But you’re just like everyone else! I just don’t understand how your parents let you all turn out so _mean_!”

Olivia turned on her heel and ran towards the woods, ignoring the sound of her teacher calling after her. She kept running. She hiked up the mountain until she felt like her feet might fall off. And then she hiked some more, crying all the way. She couldn’t take this anymore - if she was honest with herself, every day she spent with those people whittled away her self-esteem. Maybe she could ask her papa for a private tutor. She didn’t want to disappoint him, but…

As if to add insult to injury, Olivia felt a few drops of rain begin to fall on her head. Vision still blurred by tears, she made for a nearby cave. She realized it was missing a floor just a moment too late, her slippers skidding on the damp rock and sending her careening over the edge of a deep pit. Someone might actually say she looked graceful as she fell, if they hadn’t known just how truly terrified she was.

* * *

It was hard to remember what happened. A few rays of sunlight trickled down onto her skin, and it took a few moments for Olivia’s bleary eyes to realize that the bed of flowers she was laying in wasn’t her comfy bed at home. She stretched her tired limbs as she remembered what happened - thankfully, her injuries appeared to be superficial. Bruises and scrapes wouldn’t affect her ability to perform, hopefully.

She looked up and realized that performing again might be the least of her worries. Beginning to panic, she staggered to her feet and stared at the hole she’d fallen through far above her head. There was no possible way she could climb back up from here. There had to be _some_ way out of here, right?

“Oh, my,” a voice said from across the room. “Are you alright, dear?”

Olivia screamed in shock as she turned around to find a goat-woman in a lavender robe looking at her. She scooted back against the wall.

“Oh, do not be afraid, my child,” the goat-woman said. “I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. I will not harm you.”

“Where am I?” Olivia asked, looking around frantically for a way out.

“In the Underground, the Kingdom of Monsters,” Toriel said softly. “You poor dear. You look like you have been through an ordeal. Come, I will take you to my home so we can clean you up.”

Olivia didn’t budge. “My papa taught me better than to go with strangers,” Olivia said.

Toriel just smiled. “Then your father is a very wise man,” she said. “Well, I am going to fetch us some dinner. Stay here, if you wish. However, if you would like to come to my house, you are welcome there.”

Olivia looked around. There was only one way out of this room other than the way she’d came, and that wasn’t an option. With how big and strong Toriel looked, she probably could have just taken Olivia by force if she wanted to. And… she didn’t seem threatening. Besides, there weren’t really any other options available at this point. She stood up and walked over to Toriel gingerly.

Toriel gave her a warm smile. “This way, dear,” she said, beginning to walk. “Do not worry. You will be safe with me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly mean to update this more often, but I think I’ve bitten off more than I can chew writing-wise and I’m having trouble keeping up. My apologies - but I am going to try and see this story through to the end.


	7. Final Performance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olivia meets the monster king.

“You do not know how sorry I am, my child,” Toriel said, shaking her head, “but I cannot budge on this. Forgive me.” She stood in front of the exit to the Ruins.

“I have to get home to my papa,” Olivia said, her voice cracking a little. “He’s probably already worried sick about me. You can’t just keep me here!”

Toriel knelt down so that she was at Olivia’s eye level. “My child,” she said, “please try to understand. I have let two other children - children older and stronger than you, I might add - out into the rest of the Underground. Both of them  _ died _ , my child, I cannot…” Toriel wiped at her eyes, trying to keep her voice steady. “I cannot in good conscience send another child out there to die. I am sorry.”

Olivia just shook her head. It made sense, of course, and she didn’t think Toriel was lying. But… she had to get home. She knew what she had to do as Toriel led her back upstairs and put her to bed.

She laid awake for a few hours before gently slipping out off of the mattress and tiptoeing down the stairs. She pushed open the Ruins doors as quietly as she could and stepped out into the snow.

Olivia looked around. She was in an eerily quiet underground forest, from what she could tell. Of course, it was also night. She should try to get as far as possible before people started waking up.

...unless there were nocturnal monsters? What… what if they wanted to eat her? She looked around at the trees nervously.

No, no, that was silly. There was another reason they wanted to kill her, probably. Maybe she should have stayed in Toriel’s house for an extra day or two to learn more about the Underground before she set out, but it was too late for that now.

There was some faint ambient light source around, but it was barely enough to walk by - sort of like a moonless night. She eventually came up on some rickety-looking bridge crossing a small chasm. The wood looked halfway rotted - someone should replace this thing soon. At least it wasn’t a rope bridge.

Olivia took a few ginger steps onto it, and it seemed to hold. Halfway across, though, a board snapped under her foot and she began falling with a small scream. She closed her eyes and kicked off the board in a desperate attempt to get back up, and…

When she opened them, she was twenty feet in the air, gracefully floating down to solid ground on the other side of the bridge. Her slippers were glowing a deep blue color. Were they magic?

She suddenly felt a lot closer to her papa than she had before. She landed softly and the blue glow disappeared. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she continued walking.

Olivia came upon what looked like some sort of town. A older-looking dog-person sat in a chair by the entrance, nodding off. She started to tiptoe past him.

_ Snap! _

...and immediately stepped on a branch. The dog’s head shot up immediately and he growled at her. Olivia felt herself entrapped by some strange force, and four glowing buttons appeared before her.

Panicking, she looked down at them - Fight, Act, Item, Mercy. She hit one at random.

* Act

* Dogathan

Olivia looked down at her options, trying to make sense of everything.

* Check

* Pet

* Hum

* Insult

Olivia hit Hum, and felt herself humming a lullaby her papa sang to her. The dog’s eyes blinked sleepily before he slumped back into his chair, snoring. She looked at the menu again, hit Mercy and then Spare.

You won!

You earned 0 EXP and 3 Gold.

ACT Menu improved!

MERCY Menu improved!

Olivia had no idea what any of this meant, but was grateful that the fight was over. She snuck past the dog and through the town.

It was honestly a pretty cute little village. Most of the lights were turned off in the homes, but yellow light pierced through some of the windows, lighting up the snow and giving the whole town a dim, warm gold glow. Unlike many of the places she’d been in before, Snowdin’s night atmosphere was sleepy rather than hostile.

Soon, though, the snow gave way to damp purple stone and the air began to warm up just a little. Miniature waterfalls trickled out of the walls, pouring into crystal-clear pools illuminated by glimmering stones and glowing blue plants. This place was…

Beautiful, actually. Serene. Olivia looked down at the ground and saw that it was getting muddy up ahead; not wanting to get her ballet clothes any more dirty than they already were, she pulled off her slippers and tutu, leaving her in her leotard. She held them in her hands as she walked, taking in the scenery.

“...Hey, Grandpa?...” a voice said off to her right. Olivia looked around for the source, but there was nothing but those glowing flowers.

“Hello?” she called out softly. 

“...Hello?...” The echo seemed to be coming from the flower. It repeated itself again a few seconds later. Curious, Olivia moved to the next flower.

“...Yes?...”

“...What did the surface look like?...”

“...Well, it was brighter up there, for one. And the air was much fresher. When you looked up, instead of a ceiling, you would see this big blue expanse called the sky. And sometimes, these white puffy things called clouds would float up there, and sometimes they’d pour water on you just like the waterfalls. It’s… hard to explain with words…”

“...Did everyone like it up there?...”

“...I think so, yes…”

“...Then why do the humans make us live down here?...”

“...I don’t know, sonny. I really don’t…”

Olivia couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow. She could relate to these people.

As she continued forward, the flowers stopped relaying her a conversation and instead gave her some unintelligible sounds. Gradually, they started to sound like… someone crying quietly? It sounded like a man, with a deep voice. Eventually it faded out into sniffling. Then there was a long, drawn-out sigh… and then the sound of someone sipping a drink. She followed the flowers across a lily-pad bridge to find a little nook with a bench inside it.

A big, imposing-looking monster in a purple robe sat on the bench, holding a cup of tea. He looked strikingly like Toriel, actually, but with a big golden beard and a much bigger set of horns. He stared at the tips of his toes intently, not noticing her. Olivia could see the tear stains on his fur as he silently sipped his drink.

“Are you okay, mister?” she asked, walking forward a little. 

The man yelped a little, surprised. “Oh, no no no, I’m fine,” he said, wiping at his eyes. His voice was rich and deep, but it sounded raw from the crying he must have been doing earlier. “I was just, um, enjoying a cup of tea by my lonesome! Although, I always tend to find it better with company.” He turned to her with a big smile, and it was easy for her to see he was trying to hide the fact he had been crying.

His teacup shattered on the ground as he saw her face, and Olivia took a step backwards, surprised. The man looked horrified. Was he afraid of her because she was a human?

“Oh… child…” the man said. He looked on the verge of tears again. Then he chuckled, dry and hollow. “You were the very company I had been dreading today.”

“What do you mean?” Olivia asked.

He gave her a little smile. “...My name is King Asgore. Do you know what we must do?” Olivia shook her head. She felt… threatened, all of a sudden. Asgore nodded to himself. “The Barrier - that which traps us monsters underground - can only be destroyed by the power of seven human souls. It would appear that it is time for me to collect the third.” He stood up from the bench.

Olivia took a few more steps backward. “I… I just want to go home,” she said. “You don’t have to do this. There has to be another way!”

“...For me, there is not,” Asgore said, barely above a whisper. A glowing red trident appeared in his hand, washing the room in a bloody red light. Olivia dropped her ballet gear, turned on her heel, and dashed for the lily-pad bridge.

Unfortunately, that same strange force seemed to ensnare her once again. She hit Mercy.

* Spare - It is unlikely Asgore will spare you this turn.

* Flee - It is unlikely you will be able to flee this turn.

Olivia went back to her Act menu.

* Check

* Plead - It is unlikely this action will be successful.

* Reason - It is unlikely this action will be successful.

* Surrender - This action will likely be successful!

Olivia hit Reason anyway. “You don’t have to kill me,” she said. “I can go back to the surface and find some people to help you! I promise!”

Asgore looked down at the ground, hiding his face. “If you want to leave the Underground, I am afraid you need to be in the possession of a monsters soul. If you wish to leave, you must kill me. Forgive me, child.” 

Asgore reached out with his trident and Olivia didn’t react quickly enough to dodge. He left her with a deep gash across her torso, and she screamed in pain.

Her adrenaline was trying to keep her focused, but she was quickly losing blood. She Reasoned again.

“Maybe… maybe we could look into some other way for you to use my soul. A way that doesn’t involve killing me!” Olivia said.

Asgore paused for a brief moment. “...I have already tried that route. I am afraid it is a dead end.” He unleashed a torrent of flames across the ground. Olivia leaped over it gracefully this time, socked feet glowing blue once more. She Pleaded.

“I just want to get home to my papa,” she said. “Please… please let me go home…” She started to feel dizzy.

“...He has my condolences,” Asgore said, though it was too quiet for Olivia to hear. “I, too, know the pain of losing a child.” He feinted with his trident to her left before blasting flames towards her as she dodged. They hit her head on, and her body hit the ground, charred and dead. Asgore looked away from the sight and took off his cloak, covering and then wrapping her body in it.

He cried the entire way home.


	8. No Apology

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlotte’s parents get into a fight.

Charlotte sat with her knees huddled up to her chest, little pink skirt scrunched up in her hands, her plastic cooking set forgotten. The toy knife sat in her lap, taken with her when she had stopped chopping up fake pickles and come to listen to what was going on in the kitchen.

“How long has this been going on?” her father asked. His voice was very, very quiet. Her mom didn’t answer. “How long has this been going on?!” Charlotte flinched even though she wasn’t in the room as he shouted at the top of his lungs.

“...A little more than half a year,” her mother said, calmly.

“Half a year,” her father said. Charlotte peeked around the corner to see him covering his mouth with his hand, pacing around the room. His face was wet with tears. “Who with?”

“That doesn’t matter—”

“I get to decide what matters. Understand?” her father said, cutting her mother off angrily. “You’re the one who did all the lying and backstabbing and—”

“That’s a little dramatic, Victor. You’re overreacting to this whole thing,” her mother said. She sounded… annoyed, almost.  
“No, this is a perfectly reasonable reaction to _this_!” Victor said. He held up something that Charlotte couldn’t see, shaking it in her mother’s face. “Who. With?”

“I don’t really see the point of—”  
“Goddammit, Helen!” Victor shouted, throwing the whatever-it-was on the floor. “Is it at least over?” he asked, running a hand through his hair as he continued to pace.

“...I was supposed to meet him tonight. I’ll go and tell him—”

“Like hell you will!”

“He at least deserves to know,” Helen said, raising her voice a little as well.

“Oh, _he_ deserves to know,” Victor said, laughing darkly. “You mean so you can have one last little night with him?”

“That’s not fair,” Helen said.

“You clearly don’t know a damn thing about fair, you ungrateful, unfaithful street hooker,” Victor said. “While I’m out working double shifts to keep us fed because you can’t hold down a job to save your life, you’re off with some guy and you left our five-year old daughter _alone_ ,” he said, gesturing with his arms wildly. “You may be one of the worst wives in Ebott Town, but you’re an even _worse_  mother.”

“Don’t you _dare_  bring Charlotte into this!” Helen shouted.

Victor laughed again, dryly. “You’re right. We shouldn’t bring Charlotte into this.” His voice had gone deathly quiet again. Charlotte heard him stomping towards her, and she scurried back into her room. Victor swung open the door and grabbed her wrist.

“Come on, sweetie, we’re leaving,” he said. He was trying to mask how upset he was, but it was not working at all.

“Where are we going?” she asked. He didn’t answer her.

Helen stood in front of the door, a horrified look on her face. “No. No, you can’t do that,” she said.

“Clearly I can’t trust you alone with my daughter, so we’re going to my sister’s house. Feel free to have as many sleepovers as you want while I’m gone. Not that I could stop you anyway.”

“Our daughter. _Our_  daughter,” Helen said.

“Not anymore,” Victor growled, pushing her aside and opening the door.

“No. No, you can’t do this!” Helen reached out to grab Charlotte’s free arm, but she missed and instead scratched her with her fingernails. Charlotte stumbled away and started crying, and Victor picked her up, glaring at Helen with absolute venom.

“Char…! Oh my god. Oh, baby, I’m _so_  sorry, I didn’t mean to… c… come here, let me see—” She started to cry a little.

“Don’t come near my daughter,” Victor said.

“Victor. Victor, please, wait—!” He slammed the door in her face. Charlotte could Helen beat on the door with her fists a few times, but she didn’t open it. Her father put her in her child seat in the back and took off. He didn’t play any music, like he normally did.

“Daddy, it hurts,” Charlotte said, still sniffling. He glanced back at her - they were just surface scratches.

“I’m sorry, sweetie. I’ll look at it when we get to Auntie’s house.”

Charlotte curled in on herself as much as she could in her car seat, still sniffling. “Daddy? Are you mad at Mommy?”

Victor’s lip wavered, trying to hold back more tears. “...Yes. Yes, I’m mad at Mommy right now. That’s why we’re going to go stay with Auntie tonight, okay?”

“Why are you mad at her?” Charlotte asked.

“It’s… it’s a grown-up thing, sweetie,” he said. “She did something very… v-very mean, and I…” he started crying again. “Just please try to be patient with Daddy, okay?” he asked.

“It doesn’t hurt that bad,” she said, rubbing the red marks on her arm. “And she said she was sorry,” she added.

“I know. That’s not the only reason I’m mad at her, Charlotte. She’s done a lot of… very mean things,” he said.

“Did she say sorry for those?” Charlotte asked.

“...No. She didn’t even do that.”

They drove the rest of the way in silence. They stopped at Auntie’s house and Auntie took her to the guest room and told her to stay put while she and Victor talked. She sat in the corner, toy knife still in her lap.

Helen arrived at the house a little while later, and now Charlotte could hear her, Victor, and Auntie all shouting over each other in the living room. She tried to cover her ears with a pillow, but it didn’t really help. She glanced at the window of Auntie’s old house to find it was open. She climbed up onto the sill and out into the backyard, before running towards the woods.

She ran until she could no longer hear their voices, and then she sat down against a nearby tree and started crying. She lost track of time out there, and soon she noticed it was getting dark. She started walking back home.

Now it was getting really dark, and she didn’t feel any closer to Auntie’s house. All the trees looked the same, except they seemed to be getting bigger and scarier as the sun continued to set. She started running, calling out for her mother, her father, for anyone. But nobody came.

Charlotte saw the silhouette of a low mountain against the darkening sky, and she started walking towards it. Maybe if she got to the top, she could see where Auntie’s house was. At the very least, there weren’t any creepy trees up there.

She started climbing up - it wasn’t very steep, and there was a worn trail leading towards the summit - as night fell. Lucky for Charlotte, the dark had never been one of her fears, but it was still scary being out here alone.

She climbed and climbed until she was nearly asleep on her feet. She looked out at the forest, and saw Ebott town in the distance. She knew where it was now, but… she was very, very tired.

There was a cave just a little ways up. She climbed up to it and looked inside.

“Hello?” she called into it. She hoped there weren’t any monsters in there. Or bears. She really, really needed to sleep. No one answered her, so she took a few steps inside.

And she slipped.

* * *

When Charlotte woke up, everything hurt. Especially her leg - it _really_  hurt. It hurt so bad, in fact, that she started crying loudly. If she tried to move it, it hurt ten times worse, so she stayed still, hoping her dad would come find her and make it better.

Someone appeared from the tunnel on the far side of the room and gasped, rushing over to her. It was a woman, dressed in some sort of nightgown, but it was too dark to really see clearly. Whoever it was, it wasn’t Mommy or Auntie, but at this point Charlotte didn’t really care. She wanted to stop crying and ask the lady for help, but her leg hurt too much.

“Oh, you poor dear!” The woman said, crouching over her. “Oh my, that is a broken leg. Hold on, sweetie, hold on. I will fix this right up as soon as I get you home,” she said, picking her up gently and making sure to move her leg as little as possible. Charlotte clung to her and buried her face in her neck. She was very soft.

“Who… w-who are you?” Charlotte asked through her tears.

“My name is Toriel, dear. Do not worry. You are safe now,” she said.

Charlotte passed out once again on the way. Toriel looked down at her unconscious face, fraught with worry. She brushed a stick and the torn remains of a red ribbon out of her blond hair as she rushed home as quickly as she could.


End file.
